


Listen

by MLauren



Series: MLauren - ElsaMaren (Summer 2020) [3]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Angst, Elsamaren Summer 2020 (Disney), F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25288327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MLauren/pseuds/MLauren
Summary: Elsa took a leap of faith, but Maren's reaction has her feeling hurt.-Day Four: Elsamaren Summer 2020
Relationships: Elsa & Honeymaren (Disney), Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Series: MLauren - ElsaMaren (Summer 2020) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828045
Comments: 9
Kudos: 51
Collections: Elsamaren Summer 2020





	Listen

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, Thorn. I stole your reindeer.

_**Listen** _

M. Lauren

* * *

**_“Out of everyone you could have chosen, why me?”_ **

Brows knit and stare pleading, Honeymaren glanced to where Elsa waited before her. She was on her feet at the edge of Honeymaren’s bed. Elsa towered above her, hands clasped tight against her waist. Her expression was riddled with sadness. Behind those big blue eyes, a storm was brewing. 

Honeymaren’s heart stopped dead at the sight. 

“Why would you ask me something like that?” Elsa’s head tilted in misunderstanding. 

“I have to know, otherwise, what are we doing here, Elsa?” Honeymaren defended. She pushed back on the bed, bracing herself against the wall behind her.

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re seeing each other, aren’t we?” Taking a small step back, Elsa’s arms shielded over her chest. 

“We are…” she replied, but her tone seemed to disagree with the words she spoke. “I mean, we are, but-”

“What,  _ but _ ?” Elsa cut her off. “You really don't believe those things you said to me, do you!?”

A soft grumble bellowed out from Honeymaren’s throat. “Of course I do, Elsa! How could I not? You’re the Fifth Spirit, and I’m…  _ I’m just me _ …”

Planting herself beside Honeymaren. Elsa turned to her. “What’s wrong with being  _ just you _ ? And you know how much I hate being put on a pedestal! I’m not some mystical creature. I’m human, like you and everyone else in Northuldra. Why is it that Yelena and the elders can see this, but my own girlfriend can’t?”

Honeymaren was suddenly on her knees, hands pleading in front of her. “That’s not fair, Elsa,” she moaned. “You can’t compare me to Yelena. Yelena’s not dating you, I am!”

“Exactly! _You_ are dating me! I said I love you to you, and now you’re acting like I’m too good for you- like you’re not worthy of my love. Do you know how difficult it was for me to share those feelings with you? And for you to dismiss them…  _ That’s _ what’s not fair here, Maren.”

Her arms fell. Honeymaren’s expression deflated. “I’m not dismissing them. I’m trying to understand how and why…”

“By asking me that you’re saying you don’t believe me- that you don’t want my love!” Elsa tried to explain. Her voice caught and she turned her face to the wall. 

“Please don’t be upset- not at yourself, Elsa. You didn’t do anything wrong…”

When Elsa’s eyes returned, they were cold; emotionless. “Well, you certainly made me feel otherwise.”

She stood from the bed. Honeymaren watched Elsa head for the door. “Elsa, wait! Where are you going?”

When Elsa faced her, she stared at Honeymaren as if she were a stranger; someone she’d never met, but already disliked. 

“I need some space. I’ll find you later,” and Elsa was gone before her words fully resonated in Honeymaren’s ears. 

* * *

  
  


“Great, now  _ you’re _ mad at me!” Elsa paced the floor in front of the fireplace in the lounge. Her pale face was cross. 

Anna’d had no choice but to speak her mind. When Elsa showed up at her bedroom door just after midnight, she fell into a rant Anna struggled to follow. When she finally caught on, she listened to Elsa with ease. Anna had never seen this side of her sister before, but part of her enjoyed seeing Elsa so riled. 

“I’m not mad, I’m trying to explain something to you,” Anna patted the couch cushion beside her. Elsa, however, didn’t budge. She simply stared at the spot between Anna’s eyes. 

“I am hearing you, Anna, but I’m afraid  _ you’re  _ not listening to  _ me _ ! I told Honeymaren I love her-  _ love her _ ! And she told me that I couldn’t possibly…”

Anna sighed, her shoulders falling. “Just sit down, would you?”

After a brief moment, Elsa made her way across the lounge. She tentatively sat beside Anna, leaving a safe distance between them. 

“Alright, so you told Honeymaren you love her, and she got dismissive, which made you angry- am I follow here?” 

Elsa stubbornly rolled her eyes. “You’ve got it, now, go on…”

“You got angry because Honeymaren believed you were too good for her, and you just wanted her to accept what you said, right?” Anna continued to question her. 

“Yes, I asked her why she was upset, and she wanted to know why, out of everyone I could have chosen, I picked her…” Elsa’s brows pinched as she spoke. 

Cautiously, Anna placed a hand on Elsa’s knee. “Don’t you get it? Honeymaren isn’t saying she doesn’t love you back- if anything, she’s echoing the same sentiment. Honeymaren loves you, Elsa, but she can’t understand why someone like you would choose to love _her_ …”

“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Elsa crossed her arms. 

“It’s not. You’re my sister and I love you more than chocolate, but you’ve got to look at this from Honeymaren’s point of view. I’ve known you my whole life, so to me, you’re just my crazy sister. You’re a little weird. You’re closed off, and goofy when you want to be, but that’s not the person Honeymaren sees when she looks at you.”

Elsa’s expression noticeably softened. “What do you mean?”

Anna took Elsa beneath her arm as they lounged back into the couch. “Well, when we stumbled into the woods all those months ago, you were the twenty-four year old queen of Arendelle. You had magical ice powers, and then you and I saved the whole forest from entrapment. We’re not exactly your textbook definition of what sisters should be…”

Elsa remained silent as Anna’s head tilted toward her.

“That’s how Maren feels in comparison to you. She sees herself as the  _ average one _ in your relationship. She’s probably waiting for you to find someone else; someone she thinks would complete you better. I know.. because I used to do the same thing with Kristoff…”

“You did?” Elsa’s eyes widened. 

Anna nodded, smiling softly. “I did. I thought Kristoff might be happier with someone more his speed- that he would find a lonely ice harvester out on the mountain, and that they would be better suited for him that I was.”

Shaking her head, Elsa pulled her legs into her chest. “That’s silly. You were a princess, and you’re beautiful... Kristoff would’ve been insane to let you go.”

“-but he,  _ too _ , was feeling vulnerable. Kristoff was waiting for the time when some prince would come to steal me away from him.”

Anna watched her words click behind Elsa’s eyes. 

“Do you get where I’m going with this?” she asked. 

Elsa’s lips pulled to the side and she bit down on the bottom one. “Maren completes me.  _ Maren _ makes _me_ happy. I thought by telling her I loved her that she would be able to see that.”

“Given some time, she will... Maren wants to hear that you love her, but first she needs to know that she makes you happy  _ exactly _ as she is…” Anna bopped her sister’s nose. 

“I’ve been an idiot about this whole thing, haven’t I?”

Anna’s head turned, “Not necessarily. There’s still time to fix it, and I think you must be feeling pretty similar to Honeymaren for you to get so worked up over this.”

“Meaning?” Elsa’s brow arched. 

“Meaning... you told Honeymaren that you loved her, and when she doesn’t say it back immediately, you flew off the handle-”

“Okay, _now_ you’re being dramatic,” Elsa grumbled, but Anna held up a hand. 

“Let me finish, would you?” Anna continued only after Elsa waved her on, “You must have been feeling pretty self conscious, yourself? Telling someone you love them is a big deal, Elsa. What if they don’t agree? Or what if they decide you aren’t good enough? Honeymaren wasn’t saying she didn’t _want_ _ you _ ; she was saying that she didn’t feel worthy of what  _ you _ have to give  _ her… _ ” 

Elsa hummed in contemplation, “I guess I did overreact a bit, didn’t I?”

“Understandably so,” Anna assured her. “You put a lot out on the line, and it can be hard to not receive the response you’re expecting, but I think you can go back home knowing exactly what to do now.”

Frowning, Elsa shrugged, “-but what  _ do _ I do?”

Anna smiled. She took Elsa’s face between her hands. “ _ Listen _ ,” she whispered, and rested their foreheads together.

* * *

  
  


“Have you seen, Honeymaren?” Elsa asked Ryder the next morning.

She returned from Arendelle just after sunrise. Per usual, the Northuldra were already an hour into their day. Elsa found Ryder filling his water sack on his way down to the herd. His eyes lowered as he turned to her. The look on his face said it all- Honeymaren had told him  _ everything. _

_And why shouldn’t she?_ Elsa had just returned from doing the same with Anna. 

“She, um... she wanted to be alone…” Ryder shyly looked to the side as he rubbed his neck. “-but she left for the river fifteen minutes ago. If you hurry... you might be able to catch up.”

Without overthinking it, Elsa hugged him. “Thanks, Ry! You’re the best!”

Elsa remounted Nokk and took off for the trails.

She was nearing a full sprint by the time Elsa reached the first impasse. That wouldn’t have been a problem had the trail not already been occupied. 

Kit, Maren’s reindeer, was at a standstill while munching on grass. As Nokk came up behind him, Kit’s hairs raised on end. He leapt into the air, kicking his feet. 

“Woah!” Honeymaren shouted. 

She toppled backwards and began to fall. Before she could hit the ground, though, Elsa was at her side. Honeymaren collided back-to-chest with Elsa and sent them both rolling. 

“Elsa, what the hell?” she sat up, checking herself for scrapes. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think I’m doing here? I’m here for you!” Elsa was back on her feet as she held down a hand to Honeymaren. 

Honeymaren looked skeptically at the gesture. With a small pout, she allowed Elsa to pull her upright. “-but why? Aren’t you angry with me still?”

Elsa shook her head, “I was, but I wasn't listening to you. Now, I think I understand it.”

“Understand what?” Honeymaren protectively covered herself with her arms. 

“I understand that you _do_ love me, too,” Elsa smiled. “You wouldn’t have said what you did had you not, and I wouldn’t have reacted the way I did had I not felt a little like you do.”

She took Honeymaren’s hand and tugged her toward the edge of the trail. 

“I’m self conscious, too. I’m waiting for you to find someone you like better than me, or makes you happier than I can, or is more social- when you responded the way you did, I thought that meant you didn’t want me, but now I see wanting me is not the problem here. Instead of saying, I love you, I should have said that you make me happy. I should have told you that you complete me. If I’d answered your question about 'why you over everyone else', in the first place, we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now. Because there is no one else, Honeymaren. There’s only you. _I only see you_ , and I mean that.”

Cheeks darkening, Honeymaren hugged herself tighter. “You can’t honestly believe that…”

“-but I do, and I’ll tell you that everyday if you promise me one thing.” Elsa’s brow playfully arched. 

“What?” Honeymaren asked, and Elsa's smile widened. 

Her hands brought Honeymaren’s arms down to their sides. “Promise that you’ll remind me, too… I may not feel worthy of your love either, but I am certain about the love I hold for you.”

Honeymaren’s expression weakened. Her lips began turning up at their ends, “You _really_ love me?”

“Yup,” Elsa nodded, “And you love me, too.”

Laughing softly, Honeymaren turned her head to each side, “I do, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner-”

Elsa planted a finger over Honeymaren’s lips. She leaned forward and replaced the gesture with a soft kiss. “I’m sorry I wasn’t listening to what you were saying to me,” she said after she pulled back. “From now on, I promise we’ll work through these things together.”

“Together,” Honeymaren grinned. 

Elsa’s lips touched to Honeymaren’s once more before she helped her onto Kit’s back. _"Together."_  


* * *

_ Cheers,  _

_M._

  
  



End file.
